Coleman has not turned in paperwork for mayoral run

KSDK -- State Senator Maida Coleman (D-City of St. Louis) will run for Mayor of St. Louis as an Independent candidate.

Coleman had been expected to file paperwork Friday, but said she has not done so. She will begin collecting signatures to put her name on the ballot.

Coleman said she found it "very interesting" that another African-American woman with the last name "Coleman" had decided to run for mayor as well, implying an attempt to confuse voters on election day. Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman had filed to run for mayor earlier in the day.

"I can't say Francis Slay had anything to do with this at all, but I can say someone is so desperate to remain as mayor that they would convince a black woman who has never been in politics to file for mayor with the same last name as Coleman and that's just an insult," Maida Coleman said.

Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman said the State Senator's claims are not based on facts. When asked if she had been contacted or encouraged to run by someone at City Hall, Coleman said she had not had any conversations with any political person regarding her own agenda.

In a news release made available through a spokesman, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said Maida Coleman's statement was incorrect and inappropriate.

"Maida Coleman's statements are false and inflammatory. They are a red herring to explain her own inability to collect support, form a campaign committee, and file for office," Slay said. "The campaign had nothing at all to do with any candidate's decision to file. Finding no support in the Democratic Party for her candidacy, she has stomped out the door yelling a few lies over her shoulder."

Meanwhile, Reverend Elston McCowan filed for the mayoral race as a Green Party candidate Friday morning.

At present, McCowan serves as pastor for Star Grace Missionary Baptist Church, an outreach ministry in the Walnut Park area.

McCowan said if elected he will reinstate Sherman George as the city's fire chief, expand bus routes and reduce fares. He also promised to keep city schools open and to find ways to expand their role as neighborhood centers.

Former city alderwoman Irene Smith is running for mayor as well.